by Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY

by Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY

But best friends Rachel Teyssier, 45, and Stacy Struminger, 44, say they've come up with the perfect solution to staying dry and fashionable â?? RainRaps.

"I wasn't into using an umbrella, and it was too hot and humid to wear a raincoat," says Struminger. "I was sitting in a meeting cold and wet from the rain, and I thought, 'Wouldn't it be nice if there was some kind of waterproof pashmina?' "

Now, these two moms, juggling kids and working from a home in Richmond, Va., are marketing RainRaps, lightweight, waterproof rain covers.

RainRaps cost $60 and are on sale online and at boutiques across the country.The duo reports that they sold about 10,000 RainRaps in their first year.

RainRaps have been mentioned in Oprah Winfrey's OMagazine and in Good Housekeeping, but it was at the end of February, when Teyssier and Struminger won the Spanx Leg Up contest, that business took off.

Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, started the Leg Up Program in 2010 as a way to offer recognition to up-and-coming women entrepreneurs.

"Everybody needs a leg up when starting a business," Blakely says. "Mine came when Oprah named Spanx a 'Favorite Thing.' "

Winning the challenge landed RainRaps a feature in the Spanx catalog and on Spanx.com.

"We've quadrupled sales since the Leg Up announcement," Teyssier says. "It's just been huge for us."

It's not all easy.

Both women say they love working together but that the biggest challenge is balancing a start-up company with a family.

"My 9-year-old daughter (Grace) said to me, 'Is RainRaps done yet? I liked it better when you weren't working,' " Struminger says. "That made me realize that I needed to manage my time for my family."

Both women have found ways to incorporate their families into the business. Teyssier's daughter Courtney, 11, and her friends wear RainRaps to school. Liam, Struminger's 11-year-old son, likes to talk business.

"It's exciting that our families, who are good friends, have this to share together," says Teyssier.

The two women have their sights on a new market this summer â?? sports fans.

SpirtRaps will come in the colors of sports teams and universities and will be longer in the back so fans can sit in wet outdoor stadiums.

"There is so much ongoing excitement," Struminger says. "You have to keep reinventing yourself, and you have to keep changing things. Ideas keep popping up, and we are looking forward to what's next."